Colorado, the western United States, and much of the world face long term water scarcity. Russia has vast water resources and a huge surplus of fresh water. Is there water cooperation in the future between this western state and the world’s largest country?

Water shortages in the American west are well documented and worsening. There is a long history of “water wars” dating to our pioneer history, and as Mark Twain quipped, “Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting for.”

The Colorado River is what’s at stake. It’s been over-used, with too many parties fighting for too little water. States sharing the River, including Mexico, form the so-called Colorado River Compact, are given allocations by the federal government.

The amount of water given by the river has, more or less, has remained constant. But a supply imbalance has arisen due to population growth, worsening droughts and environmental degradation. The situation will only worsen with global climate change.

At the same time, the Russians are flush with water. As a country with the most prolific untapped water reserves, Russia, can meet not only their own demand but that of much of the world. Russia has 22 percent of Earth’s fresh water resources. Rivers including the Volga, Lena, Yenisey, Ob’ and Amur, and lakes including Baikal (the largest in the world), Ladoga and Onega comprise much of these reserves. Russia’s six percent of global population consumes less than two percent of its water.

Russia’s position as a water superpower is not lost on the Russians. The President of the State Duma (Parliament), Boris Gryzlov, has stated that Russia should become a country that leads the way in creating a worldwide market for fresh water supplies. “Since we have such reserves, we could play a key role on this market as we do on the oil and gas market,” he said.

A media blitz may have begun recently when former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev stated in the New York Times that the world water crisis is so severe that immediate action is needed to avert a global humanitarian crisis. He added his support to the growing number of nations calling on the UN to declare the access to clean water a fundamental human right.

Russia also has vast water resources in the Pacific Far East and Arctic regions and is poised to become a major exporter. Russia and the U.S. can and should work together toward the common purpose of resolving one of the world’s greatest challenges. Both should harness the ingenuity, technology and resources necessary to transfer water from remote locations to a thirsty world, including to the U.S. west coast.

The key to linking Colorado’s water needs and Russia’s water surplus is through ocean transportation, which already carries over 95 percent of world trade. Russian water would be delivered to southern California. This new source for California, which has long exceeded its legal allocation of Colorado River water, would allow The Golden State to relinquish supplies long “borrowed” from other user states, including Colorado. This type of land-based “water transfer” is commonplace throughout the western United States today.

The seeds of this future growth have already been laid. Alcoa, America’s aluminum giant, recently made a massive investment in Russia’s shipyard industry aimed at making marine transportation more energy efficient. Governments, private industry and university researchers are developing lightweight composite materials that one day will allow large volumes of water to be shipped great distances.

America’s defense and aerospace companies can help also by applying their experience in developing advanced materials for construction, honed over decades on the cutting edge of U.S. space and defense programs, to the maritime sector of the economy. Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics already own large shipyards capable of building advanced water tankers for the emerging world water trade.

Russia and the U.S., Cold War rivals on the high seas, can join forces today to bring this essential commodity to Colorado and the world, to save lives, heal the environment, promote economic development, and encourage global stability. The question is whether our political leaders have the will to move forward to a new era of water security.

John M. Barbieri is president of the Natural Resources Corporation in Los Angeles. Deborah A. Palmieri, Ph.D. is Honorary Consul General of Russia in Colorado based in Denver. They can be reached at info@nrcwater.com. EDITOR’S NOTE: This is an online-only column and has not been edited.